Sermon - John 12.20-33

John 12.20-33

INTRO

·         What would make you visit Mecca at Hajj time? Risky for an outsider, one of the hated “others” at a time where nationalist and religious fervour crescendos.

·         Gospel building to a crisis point thru Jn 11 & 12

·         Jesus’s HOUR has finally come

GREEN LIGHT

·         Gentiles WANT (also means “lack or be short of something desirable or essential”) to SEE (Jesus (Is 52.10, just before 53!) cf Spanish saying (check with Bob) “del lo que hay, no falta nada”, meaning “of all the things we have, we don’t lack anything”.

·         Passover – J will be the true, voluntary lamb of God

·         Gentiles (and everybody) will get what they need or lack; they will SEE Jesus, but not what they expect…

JESUS about to be CLARIFIED (John Wycliffe’s 14C translation) and GLORIFIED

·         A “Truly, truly” saying (i.e. very important)

·         Dying to Live; the seed principle

·         Applies the seed principle to himself (firstfruits of a great harvest)

·         Applies it to others – explain hating your life (hating the psyche, ego-self)

·         To live eternal (= from above) life, your psyche/ego needs to die

KRISIS in the KOSMOS (v31 in original Greek)

·         Vast scope …

·         Judgement has come on the world, the present order of things

·         The ruling powers are about to be defeated

·         When Jesus is lifted up from the earth (= resurrected!) he will draw (literally drag) ALL (every person) to himself (see also Jn 1.7, 9, 16, 29, 3.17 etc). What God wants – in both senses of want (1 Tim 2.3) God will surely achieve, through the resurrection of Jesus who draws/drags all who want or lack God to him with an everlasting love and with cords of loving kindness (Jer 31.3, Hosea 11.4)

·         For anything or anybody to prevent God reaching his goal, they’d have to be stronger than God, to somehow deflect or neutralise his everlasting, powerful love.

RESPONSE/REFLECTION…

·         Love, wonder, worship … or at least be intrigued?

·         I don’t want to die having just been a good seed, stay shiny and hard shelled to the end, then disintegrate with all my life giving potential crumbling into dust, wasted. That wouldn’t be the end for me but I would surely have good cause for regret.

·         Our ruling self needs to die now, be buried in the soil of life now, so can live from above, grow, be fruitful

·         Think back to small deaths which (in hindsight) led to new life, growth, fruit

·         What else do you want (lack or need)?

·         What else do you need to die to?

·         What hard shell needs breaking, so that your healing, lifegiving potential can break out and grow?

·         Prayer…

Like a snake on a pole? Sermon - John 3.14-21

John 3.14-21

The Juggler

·         You are sitting in your car at the traffic lights, perhaps you are a bit late for an appointment. A young man in fancy dress steps out in front of you and starts juggling. He’s pretty good – and you can’t go anywhere until the light changes. How do you respond? On a good day your mood lightens, you relax, smile and when he walks towards you holding out his hat, you roll down the window and give him a coin or two. On a bad day…

·         Other things people do (or suffer) have a deeper, longer lasting effect on our emotions and behaviour. Examples – your neighbour suffers a racist attack; you visit a holocaust memorial; you witness a surprising act of forgiveness.

·         When we see things like this, we may be healed of a prejudice; snapped out of complacency; led to consider a change in the direction of our life.

Jesus and Nicodemus

·         Towards the end of his famous conversation with Nicodemus (born again, born from above), Jesus reminds his confused Pharisee friend of that strange story we heard about the time Moses put a bronze snake on a pole:

·         The Israelites were in a mess, grumbling and turning away from the God who had brought them out of slavery.

·         Moses didn’t juggle, but he did something very unusual to grab their attention, confront their wrong attitude and give them a sign of God’s powerful, healing presence with them.

·         When the people saw this they were healed and changed (notice it was the people who needed to change; not God).

·         Nicodemus knew that story but he didn’t see what was coming next. Jesus predicted that the same thing that happened to the bronze snake was going to happen to Jesus.

·         And for essentially the same reason. Religious people like Nicodemus had lost their way and had become disconnected from God.

·         Jesus being “lifted up” in front of them would be both a visual aid to startle the people into deep, long lasting change AND would be the means of healing of all that was wrong with the human race (Isaiah 53.5).

Was the crucifixion extraordinary?

·         I said earlier that it is usually the really extraordinary things we see which have the power to change our lives in a deep and lasting way.

·         But the crucifixion of a convicted criminal – even an innocent man – was nothing unusual in the Roman empire; it was an everyday event.

·         What made it unique in the case of Jesus was who he was – in John’s terms he was the Word made flesh, the Light of the World, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

·         These things were evident in the extraordinary life of healing, teaching and confronting hypocrisy and injustice, which Jesus had lived.

·         Then there was the extraordinary way he behaved during his trials and execution; saying nothing to defend himself, forgiving his persecutors, fixing up his mother with a new son (John the gospel writer).

·         Then after his death came another “lifting up” of Jesus on the third day – a unique event which would change the world – more of that at Easter.

What effect does the lifting up of Jesus have?

·         Next week’s reading will take us deeper into the meaning of the cross for us, as we look at John 12. In the meantime I suggest we need to think about what we are reading and be careful not to jump to conclusions.

·         It is tempting to just link 3.16 (the most famous verse in the Bible?) with 3.18 and assume it is all about God’s desire to divide humanity into 2 groups; “good” believers and “bad” non believers, so he knows whether to send them to heaven or hell after they die.

·         BUT that wouldn’t do justice to 3.17 which tells us Jesus did not come to judge but to save the world (the kosmos), or to verses like 1.7 and 1.9 which indicate that Jesus came to save everyone.

·         It is also tempting to see these verses as confirming the mediaeval theory that God had to punish his innocent son in our place, so that he could have a change of heart and not punish us (at least some of us).

·         BUT that wouldn’t do justice to the clear teaching in Numbers and in John that it is US who need a change of heart, NOT God.

Keep looking, keep thinking…

·         The lifting up of Jesus in crucifixion and resurrection is a mystery which defies simplistic explanations, so we need to keep looking and keep thinking, to stay in its light instead of turning away.

·         Maybe as we do so we will experience a change of mood, like when we are confronted by a juggler at the traffic lighhts.

·         Maybe on a good day we will feel more grateful and generous and put a few coins in the bag.

·         But perhaps as we see the face of God on the cross, not raging in his agony, but forgiving the world that put him there … we will receive healing and be challenged to make some deeper and more lasting changes. I want to end by singing a great hymn by Isaac Watts, who had a great understanding of thes things (“When I Survey”)

Marketing God

John 2.13-22 All Age Sermon

Part 1 – At the Market

• ·         Who came to the Church Clothes Fair yesterday? Look at the bargains I found! Isn’t it great when we turn the church into a market for the day?
• ·         Bible reading…
• ·         So Jesus was really angry because the Temple had been … turned into a market. Oops! Do you think he’s angry with us too? WWJD if he’d come here yesterday? Would he have tipped over all the tables and chased us out with a whip?

Part 2 – What was Wrong?

• ·         The pilgrims arriving in Jerusalem for Passover were being sold the things they needed to be allowed to approach God for forgiveness/healing/love.
• ·         In other words, people’s desire for God was being used as a money making opportunity. A kind of Pay as you Pray scheme which made some people rich and many people poor and resentful.
• ·         Making money had even become more important than helping people meet God, so that the Courtyard of the Gentiles, which was meant to be a “house of prayer for all nations” had become a busy shopping mall – prayer couldn’t be allowed to get in the way of profit, so it was simply crowded out.
• ·         Jesus challenged what was wrong in dramatic actions, reminding people what the Temple was meant to be for – in Matthew’s version of the story he made the point even clearer by healing a load of blind and disabled people while he was there.
• ·         Jesus was effectively saying – “This Temple isn’t working any more – you’ve ruined it. You need a new Temple.”

Part 3 – Jesus’s Answer

• ·         Jesus didn’t just HAVE the answer, he claimed to BE the answer. When he said “Tear down this Temple, and in three days I will build it again” he wasn’t talking about a building, he was talking about himself.
• ·         So now it’s by meeting Jesus rather than going to the Temple that people receive God’s forgiveness and healing and love.
• ·         Jesus also predicted that his followers would continue to do the same things he did, being his body in the world, taking on that Temple role of connecting people to God to receive forgiveness, healing and love.

Part 4 – Conclusions

• ·         So St George’s church building is not a Temple, which means it might be OK to have a market here! Having a market here can actually be a way of showing kindness, loving our neighbours, helping people buy good things they need for a low price. But it mustn’t just be about making money for the church.
• ·         You see, this building is not the Temple but we, the followers of Jesus, ARE the Temple.
• ·         What I mean is that our purpose in life is to connect people to God. Money might play a part in that, but the money must never become more important than connecting people to God.
• ·         We, the followers of Jesus, are to be the community, the family where people meet God and are welcomed and forgiven and healed and loved.
• ·         That’s what the original Temple was supposed to be for and it is what we are supposed to be for. May God help us to become what he has called us to be.

Bible Study - Mark 1.29-39

Bible Study – Mark 1.29-39
 
Q1    What does the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law teach us about Jesus’ priorities and powers? Can we learn anything from her response?
 
Q2    What did the crowds of people who came for healing or deliverance understand about Jesus?
 
Q3    Mark records Jesus’ early morning prayer routine. Why do you think this was necessary for Jesus and to what extent is it a pattern for us?
 
Q4    In verses 37 to 38 there is a conflict of expectations between Jesus and the disciples. Why do you think this happened and what can we learn from it?
 
Q5    How is Jesus’s ministry of proclaiming the gospel related to his healings and deliverances? Charismatic Christians like John Wimber (founder of Vineyard Church and author of Power Evangelism) argued that the healings/deliverances come first, opening people up to hear and respond to the gospel. Others argue that the healings/deliverances are signs which follow the preaching of the gospel. Which view do you tend to agree with?
 
Q6    In this early part of his ministry, is Jesus primarily concerned (a) with people’s guilt and responsibility for sin and evil or (b) with their brokenness and captivity by the power of sin and evil? How does this relate to his later ministry, the cross and resurrection?
 
Q7    What does Mark add to our understanding of Jesus (in comparison to the other gospels?
 
Q8    What should we believe about the existance and activity of demons in New Testament times and today? What do we need to know and do about evil as individuals and as a church?

Unity Service sermon - Mark 3.31-35

Mark 3.31-35 – Joint Service with Bonanova RC Church
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, 24th January 2012
 
Two simple ideas and a challenge are suggested by tonight’s gospel reading.
 
1.    Theory of six degrees of separation (Explain the theory of Hungarian writer Karinthy 1929). My recent example – Alex S, Aussie internet friend, intro to English children’s book author Nick B via me and my old college Principal Mike B in only 3 steps. I guessed Nick and Mike might be related and they turned out to be brothers. Mike forwarded my email and Nick emailed Alex – QED!

2.    Jesus Christ is alive and is the Saviour of the World. That’s why we’re here.
Put the two together and every person on the planet is 6 steps or less away from being introduced to Jesus Christ; the Saviour of the World. We are probably all agreed that it would be a very good idea for these introductions to be made without delay. God thinks it would be a very good idea too (see for example 1 Timothy 2.3-6), but how?

It is fairly unlikely that people will bump into Jesus themselves these days. But they are quite likely to meet one of his relatives:

“Who are my mother and my brothers?” Jesus asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3.33-35)

That means you and me and anybody else who is a doer of God’s will. You may object that you are not skilled or called to be an evangelist, that you don’t have the right gifts or personality for it. But perhaps as a brother or sister of Jesus your role will be as simple but vital as passing on a message – like my old College Principal Mike was prepared to do. He took a risk in introducing this stranger to his brother, and he did so because he trusted me and he knew that I trusted Alex.

We all need reminding regularly, that when we gather in the presence of our Lord Jesus to worship him that we do so for the benefit of all people, not just for ourselves. And the challenge tonight is that we should all be prepared to take the risk Mike took and introduce a stranger to our brother and our Lord. Because when a person who needs to meet Jesus meets you … they are only one degree of separation, one step away from meeting him.

Sermon John 2.1-11

John 2.1-11
When a FOOTBALL PLAYER moves to a new club, he hopes he will score a spectacular goal in his first match. This would bring instant popularity with the supporters and raise hopes of great days ahead.
I’m not sure what the equivalent would be for a CHURCH LEADER; maybe to perform an amazing healing or preach a sermon that causes loads of people to fall down on their knees and repent – that kind of thing! It would show the people in church that this leader really has God’s anointing and would raise hopes that a spectacular revival is about to begin.
According to the writer of the 4th Gospel (John), Jesus did something pretty amazing at the start of his public ministry – he went to a wedding with his mum and some friends (not so amazing?) – but when the wine ran out, he changed a few stone jars of water into a large quantity of good quality wine (wow!).
Pretty spectacular and guaranteed to amaze everybody present; except that NOBODY KNEW what had happened, except his mum, a few disciples and the waiters. What a missed opportunity!
The other 3 gospel writers didn’t even record this story – perhaps they thought it was not much more than a little party piece, compared to the great parables and healings and sermons which were to come. But for John, after perhaps 40 years reflection, it was the first (preeminent) sign which revealed Jesus’s glory; his value, his brightness which defeats every shadow of darkness; a revelation which caused his disciples to put their faith in him.
What did John see here that the others missed?
•    The NATHANAEL Link. End of Ch 1, Nathanael, sceptical that anything good could come out of Nazareth, is won over by the fact Jesus saw him sitting under a tree before Philip called him. Jesus promises Nathanael he will see greater things than this, in fact he will see heaven being opened and angels going up and coming down on the Son of Man (referring to Jacob’s “ladder” dream, Genesis 28.12). The very next thing the gospel writer records is a wedding feast in Nathanael’s home town (see John 21.2) of Cana. Looking back, John can see that what happened at this wedding was already fulfilling the promise to Nathanael. A greater and more important marriage was anticipated here – heaven/earth – and was already happening in the marriage of human and divine in Jesus himself.

•    NEW WINE better than OLD. The wine ran out – the word we translate “ran out” really means “fell short”. The old covenant or agreement between God and man failed (on the human side). John and Mary point to Jesus and say to the servants “do exactly what he tells you”. Jesus uses the stone purification jars of the old covenant and his presence transforms their contents from water (we are 60% water) into wine. When Jesus is present, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

•    A person deserving dishonour (bridegroom who did not provide wine of sufficient quantity/quality) is honoured, because of Jesus.

•    The saving work of Jesus is seen only by the servants who follow his instructions  – but is for the benefit of everybody. The new wine is to be SERVED, not hoarded.

•    John even hints at a link to the final sign, resurrection, also “on the third day” and revealing Jesus’s glory, leading disciples and witnesses to faith, new life.

•    A passage packed with rich symbolism which repays meditation and helps us understand the gospel.
What does this sign mean for us?
•    Earlier in the service we sang “come on in and taste the new wine, the wine of the kingdom” (One shall tell another by Graham Kendrick). Shouldn’t this be the message we are giving to the people around us? How can this happen?

•    Are people receiving through us the wine which reveals Jesus and encourages them to put their faith in him? (John 2.11)

•    WHEN people visit our church or meet us around town or at work, what do they see? Do they see signs pointing towards Jesus? Or are our signs pointing in other directions?

•    ARE WE ‘revealing His glory’ in our lives and in our worship? Or are we hiding Him from view?

•    ARE WE encouraging faith in Jesus? Or are we instead confirming people’s prejudice that he is irrelevant, weak and unworthy of faith?

•    HAVE WE inadvertently changed the wine back into water?

•    I SUSPECT that we may find these questions uncomfortable and if we are honest, in spite of our good intentions, we often fall short of what Jesus calls us to be.

•    So CAN WE do what Jesus did at that wedding in Cana? Not exactly! We can’t turn water into wine.

•    But we can go and BE WITH our friends and neighbours in the ordinary celebrations and griefs, the ups and downs of life.

•    WHEN CRISIS COMES – when the wine runs out, we can’t turn water into wine but we do know someone who can! And we CAN show that the resources of the Christian faith – prayer, praise, worship, the Bible, the love of other Christians, the gifts of the Holy Spirit – are EFFECTIVE in a crisis.

•    Beyond that we are called to BE the presence of Christ, his body, the branches of his vine, wherever we are and wherever He sends us. The wedding at Cana is just one of many gospel stories where the presence of Jesus transforms EVERYTHING. The presence of Christians, the presence of the church should be having the same effect…

•    THE TASK facing us is very simple, but it is not at all easy. We are called simply to MAKE SIGNS and to BE SIGNS which point towards Jesus. We are called to REVEAL HIS GLORY and we are called to ENCOURAGE FAITH in Him.

•    SIMPLE! But it is not easy to do all of this consistently. We need help, from each other, from the resources of the wider church, from Christians who are further along the road than we are and above all from the Holy Spirit.

•    May we discover the way to fulfill this great calling together, remembering that, with God, nothing is impossible.